Water Damage? Follow these quick tips from ServiceMaster of Minneapolis

Posted on May 8, 2015.

What will you do when you have a water damage? Do you have a plan? What does your insurance actually cover? In my previous article “water damage prevention checklist” I spoke about different ways to prevent water damage, but what happens when it is completely unpreventable?

You can try to prevent it from happening, but some things are inevitable. Like drain backups, sump pump failures, or do any of you remember the Minneapolis and surrounding area’s relentless spring rainstorms last year?

In any case, what do you do when you have the issue? Here’s a couple pointers from the pros at ServiceMaster of Minneapolis.

When possible shut off the source, no one can begin the mitigation until the water stops flowing in.

Shut off the electricity to the affected area. You do not need to be electrocuted on top of having a water damage. Once any electronic items have been removed from the affected areas power can be restored.

If it is a substantial amount of water/sewer water, call ServiceMaster immediately. The faster ServiceMaster can respond to your water damage the better. The longer water sits it can cause rotting of wood, mold growth, rusting of steel, de-laminating of materials such as carpeting and plywood. (Delamination takes 24 hours for carpeting, and mold takes 72 hours to start growing. So the faster response time, the better)

Remove any fabric items hanging in the water because water will climb any fabric exposed to the water, thus causing more water damage to soft goods. Use clothes pins, safety pins, or remove altogether.

If the water damage is a sewer backup, it is best left to the professionals at ServiceMaster. The water is nasty, and you do not need to contaminate yourself and other things in your home.

Keep a clean basement (when possible) prevent things from sitting on the ground. If it is in the basement, keep it off the ground, because water will wreak havoc, and sometimes it does not take much to put a little distance between your valuables and the floor.

If there are furniture items on the floor put a barrier between the floor and the legs of the furniture. With things such as plastic bags, tin foil, wood, or anything that will prevent rust stains from further ruining your carpeting from the water damage.

Let ServiceMaster do the dirty work! We are full service, so we will suck up water, tear out wet pad/carpet (when necessary) move furniture, do demo (again, if necessary), handle your soft goods, and make sure you are taken care of in your time of need.
ServiceMaster of Minneapolis proudly serves the Twin Cities Area, and surrounding areas. We not only specialize in carpet cleaning, but we also provide services for water damage, fire damage/smoke damage, mold removal, trauma cleanup, vandalism cleanup, window cleaning, and duct cleaning.